Tell me your experience in introducing a kitten to an adult cat.?

[Lesley]

It's been 24 hours, and she's staying in the bathroom mostly. We've had a couple of incounters. Last night was lots of hissing. Today, for ten minutes, there was much less hissing, but one light tackle when the kitten ran too fast for Sneakers's liking. There's lots of Sneakers following the little one and sniffing.

I wiped the kitten down with a bathing wipe, and I think that helped.

Tell me your experiences, please. How long did the transition take?

 

[Jenner]

i have owned cats my whole life and have been though this many times and i have to say that each time it's different. it's impossible to be able to tell how they will react to each other - each cat is different. but cats never like each other when they first meet. there will always be some hissing and spitting. some cats will never tolerate a new cat in their home and some will become best mates with the new cat withing a few days. i have had both situations and everything in between.
some tips to consider
-make sure both cats have a way to escape each other if they need to. it is especially important that your new kitten has a safe hidey hole where the older cat can't get to it, just incase things get nasty. a cardboard box with a small hole cut out (only big enough for the kitten) is a great idea.
-dont leave them alone unsupervised for the first few weeks of until you think the adult cat has adjusted
-dont worry if the kitten gets a few swats here and there, you dont need to intervene and dont get angry at either cat or tell them off for hissing, growling or swatting each other. they need to communicate and learn their place with each other and this is how they will do it. if they get into a braul then certainly intervene to avoid any serious injuries.
-try to keep your older cat's routine the same - for example if it always sleeps in your room at night, dont kick it out so the kitten can sleep there, cats get resentful and jealous!
-i found that a good way to introduce cats and kittens in a positive way is by feeding them in the same room. that way they begin to associate the other cat/kitten with a positive experience. not too close together to begin with.
anyway, goodluck and i hope this all helped!

 

[Anderson]

i saw one cat owner put a cage with a young kitten from spca, and kept her there for awhile while the older cat just circled the cage. this was to get them used to each other and their individual smell. it worked, she said that it took a few days. i saw other shows on the station who did the same thing, but with other species. however, you said that sneakers was calming down, so be patient. i do't think it will take that long. good luck and GOD bless.

 

[nomi_887]

Sorry to say... but my experience was HORRIBLE one... I introduce a lonely kitten to an adult cat (mother of two kittens) i thought she'll adopt it but for my surprise, she KILLED that poor kitten instantly....

 

[Mercury]

I haven't introduced a kitten to an adult in the house. But we bring home kittens for the farm and just turn them loose after showing them where the food is and giving them their own special shelter. Feeding times is the only time we really supervise because outside they have hiding places and the new cats stay close to the house the first few weeks. But feeding times they tend to get tempermental, but it usually takes a week and they are all fine with eachother. I did however introduce a litter mate to her brother not that long ago. They had been separated for about 6 months when I got a phone call asking me if I wanted to take him in. That took about a week...both are house cats. I have a large indoor dog crate that used to be my labs when I was house training him that I set up a litter box and a sleeping box for the new guy, Jensen. I put up a blanket over it with only a small opening on one side so he could look out without getting overwhelmed. This also allowed his sister, Kiera, who I had already had for about 5 months, to some and smell him and they could look at eachother with out the nasty confortations. I would let him out to run around one room for awhile and then put him back in and let Kiera back in that room. After a few days I would let them out together but supervised. It only took about a week and a half and they were the best of friends. Some cats take longer than others, in my case...Kiera thinks she is Queen over this place and everyone needs to bow down to her...including her stubborn brother and our two dogs. The two cats are now best friends and you very rarely see them appart...and they now tag team the dogs.

 

[Kate]

It's unlikely that they'll become super close, as most cats seem to have issues adapting to newcomer pets. I wouldn't worry too much, they'll probably just avoid each other most of the time, and only have a tiff if they happen to get in each other's way.

Some things to help with the transition:

Separate feeding areas

Do not show more affection to the kitten than the adult cat.

Don't try to push them together

 

[Yuki Hideyo]

Horrifying!!.....but they are ok now.....it took about....let me see about 4 months i guess......

 

[Victoria]

Oh. I was so terrified when I brought the kitten home. Not for the kitten though, she could look after herself. The adult stayed on my bed, which isn't easy for cats to do. I was worried he'd think we didn't love him anymore. (Make sure your cat feels still feels loved). My cats started staying in the same room together after a couple of days, maybe a week. Its been 9 months and feeding time is hectic. The kitten, who isn't much of a kitten now, scoffs her food down and tries to eat the adults, who is kinda a push over and very nice for a male cat (Seriously he seemed like a metro sexual or gay guy). They play nicely now. mostly. When my male gets sick of her he sits on top of my bed, down the hall or on the fridge. But My Mikey has always been a sweet little boy, who terrorises the cats outside behind our back, and isn't really bothered by much and is very loyal. (seriously Mikey follows me to the bus stop in the morning. I stayed at a mates one night, came back and we couldn't find him. Walked all the way up to the bus stop where he'd been since I left meowing at every bus that cam passed.)

Edit --- Mikey and Tiger now curl up together sometimes too. (And we've caught them curled up with their kittens)

 

[ishmel]

and litter of course...and then take her out for a few, but stay there while they encounter each other ...if there is a lot of hissing and fighting...put the kitten back in the room...for another day ...try it again the next day ...it may take a few days, but they will eventually get used to each other...

 

[Jeane]

Oh I am jealous! It has been far too long since I had a kitten. I have introduced plenty of kittens to adult cats in my time though.

At first, yes, there will be plenty of hissing and maybe even a few swipes. Just leave them be. It is quite normal for hissing at first, but this will soon give way to the adult begrudgingly tolerating the presence of the kitten. Then that will give way to curiosity when the kitten is not paying attention to the adult... which eventually will lead to acceptance.

The kitten will probably get over apprehension of the adult before the adult is ready, and will start trying to get the adult to play... which will probably bring some more hissing or swipes from the adult. Just let it happen. If you keep them apart they will never get use to each other. However, if it looks like the adult is being very aggressive and actually attacking the kitten, of course take it away... but you probably don't really need to worry about this from the sound of things.

Just give them time! The peace will resume in a couple weeks.

 

[Gaynor]

Bones tortured Beast for about a week, and then I locked them both out on the balcony for a day (with food, water and a box).

When I let them back in the apartment, they were the best of friends.

 

[Bambi_princess_18]

My cat Sydney was very chilled out cat when he just lived alone but when we got pixie our new kitten their was constant chasing and pouncing with a lot of squills. So to help defuse the arguing we used a water gun to lightly spray the cat which was instigating the fights this works for a short period, then sydney decided he needed to start scent marking our flat including weeing on beds and plastic bags. So i decided he needed to be castrated and a week on they are sleeping in the same bed and still playful to each other Good luck

 

[James Blinko]

wow that is extreme, what I did was to start by keeping them separate so the kitten in a like a bedroom and the cat will get used to its sent, then let the kitten wonder free but keep their litter try and food separate until they are completely safe. it worked a treat!

 

[SpaceInveighder]

I currently have two cats.

When the first cat was four years old, I bought a kitten in the hopes of keeping her company. At first, she was loving and kind to it... but a week later, she tried to kill it.

Everything worked out okay, but it took a lot of time and effort to get them to accept each other. I had to keep them seperated for the first four months, with small, daily interactions. They did eventually become friends and are both alive and playing around together today.